A few New York restaurants offer long tables meant for sharing. However elsewhere, if needed, I have asked and been asked to share a table of four or two with people I do not know. I have rarely, if ever, said no nor been turned away. This is especially true for those limited outdoor tables on a glorious day.

But cultures vary. I asked, in Argentina, if I could sit at an empty table of two, pushed next to another, where two women were seated. The waitress refused. The women however graciously offered me a seat then explained that people there are not accustomed to sharing. We spent the next two hours chatting.

In lower Manhattan, not far from the Liberty Island ferry, there is a dining spot on a pier. Sitting at any one of the dozens of picnic tables offers splendid views of the Hudson River and beyond. One evening the weather was perfect for outdoor dining and the tables were full. Thus, I was surprised when I was denied a seat at a long picnic table where only two people were seated. I suspect the diners were foreigners.

Undeterred, I asked again a short distance away. This time I was offered a seat by a couple with smiles. After awhile the couple left and I stayed to revel in the view. Two women came, sat down, never asking if they could, and began placing their order.

I could tell by their accents, they were New Yorkers.